After the Party
by PiratelfDair
Summary: Rory was supposed to go to the movies with Dean. But he left her at the party. He feels he should let Lorelai know where she is, cause he's responsible like that.


**Title:** After the Party _(A Missing Scene from "The Party's Over")_

**Author:** Piratelf

**Rating:** G

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore, Dean Forester, cheesecake or cell phones. Basically, I own nothing.

**Author's Notes:** In "The Party's Over", Dean looks so hurt when he says "I don't belong here. Not anymore, do I?" and Rory just says, "Dean." Then he says, "You look good." And she doesn't say anything. Doesn't try to stop him from getting back into his truck. He looks back at her one more time, still she doesn't say anything.

He knew it was over.

**Summary:** Rory was supposed to go to the movies with Dean. But he left her at the party. He feels he should let Lorelai know where she is, cause he's responsible like that.

Lorelai had just sat down with Luke's cheesecake and a fork when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Uh, hey, Lorelai, It's Dean."

"Dean, hi, what's up? Something wrong?"

"No, uh, I just wanted to let you know that, um, Rory is, um, well, she might be late. I'm not sure. "

Lorelai put down her fork. Something was definitely up. "How can you be not sure, Dean? What's happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing's happened, it's just, um, she's still at her grandparents'. Your parents'."

"She is?"

"Yeah, the party looked like it was going really well. And there are a lot of guys there, that I guess are friends of hers from Yale, and she seemed like she was having a really good time so, um, I thought she should stay. . . .So, uh, anyway, I just didn't want you to worry. "

"You thought she should stay?" Lorelai asked, disbelieving.

"Well, I guess it's more like I thought I should go. But anyway, I just wanted you to know where she is and everything, so, uh, I guess that's it. "

"Wait, Dean! What? What's going on? Those aren't her friends. Those are just the blue blood young studs my parents invited to the Rory auction."

"She said they were her friends. I don't really know anything else about it, Lorelai."

Lorelai knew Dean. Had known him since he was sixteen. And that casual tone in his voice was as fake as the eggs in Mrs. Kim's egg salad. Something was wrong. "Dean, can you just tell me exactly what happened?"

"It's just-," Dean sighed. "All right, I went to pick her up, and after about twenty minutes she came out, and there were all these guys with her, and she said she was late because they were all at the pool house, or something like that. And she was beautiful, she was wearing all these diamonds and everything, and they were all in tuxes and I just thought - I can't dress her in diamonds, Lorelai. And I can't take her away from a party at a mansion with Yale guys where they were probably discussing Tolstoy and modern art and put her in my truck and take her to some movie. She belonged there, with them. And I . . . didn't. So I left. And if you want to hate me for that, go ahead. But Rory shouldn't have to settle. And I just can't be what she wants anymore. "

"Oh, sweetie, no! Rory doesn't want that, don't you see? It was all a set-up. My parents, the master manipulators, are just trying to make her do what they want her to do, and look how they want her to look and be with who they want her to be with!"

"Lorelai, I wish that were true. But believe me, I am an expert at seeing what Rory wants, especially when it's different from what she says she wants. It was Jess all over again. I expected her to come rushing out with her jeans in a purse at 8:29 and tell me I should break the land speed record before we reached the end of the drive way. She came out at 8:45 and she was laughing followed by a crowd of guys who were also laughing. She started telling me about how boring the party was, so she and the guys went to the pool house, then she stopped in the middle of a sentence and complimented my shirt. That's not happy Rory, Lorelai. That's nervous, 'I'm hiding something' Rory. She wanted to be there. She didn't want to leave with me. She didn't ask me to stay. She doesn't need me anymore."

Lorelai hated the pain that was hidden behind the words. "She DOES need you Dean, she LOVES you, and you love her, don't try and tell me that you don't."

"She doesn't love me, Lorelai, she just loves the idea of me. I didn't see it before because I just wanted another chance with her so badly, and when it seemed like she wanted it too, I just took it. But she never wanted me. She just felt scared and insecure because Yale was harder than she thought, and she was homesick, and Jess had hurt her. And there I was. I was a safe place for her, and that's all I was. But she's over the hurdle now, and I'm just part of her past. She's ready for her future, and I can't take her there."

"Dean . . ." She didn't know what to say. She hated to admit it, but she could see the truth in what he said. When did nineteen-year-olds get so mature? "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Anyway, I really should go now. You're not supposed to drive and use a cell phone."

That was so Dean! Why couldn't Rory stay with this nice, sweet, smart, safe, responsible guy? She wondered if he was going to be all right. "Right. Okay, well, thanks for calling."

"Sure."

"Bye, Dean."

"Goodbye, Lorelai."

Later, when Lorelai looked out her window and saw Rory stumble drunkenly out of a strange vehicle she thought, 'oh, Dean, maybe she doesn't need you, but I think I do.'


End file.
